


Shelter

by LivinPoetry



Series: The homoWNERS [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: Alternative Energy, Domestic Avengers, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:21:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29936109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LivinPoetry/pseuds/LivinPoetry
Summary: Hey everyone! Thanks for clicking on this story!!This story is the beginning of alternate reality of sorts for the MCU. While things may seem familiar DON'T GET COMFORTABLE (they say with the utmost love and caution.)Fair warning: this piece is a work in progress and I will try to upload chapters when my schedule isn't ruining my life. Please don't hesitate to lemme know your thoughts and thanks for joining me on this journeyQuick Shoutouts:Thank you @Sreed09 & Shuri for being my beta readers, my listening boards, my safe deposit boxes with my plots and my advisors as I try to get this piece together.Thank you Jay for the tweet thread that sparked this idea, all of your wonderful art that serves as my muse, and your kindness cause you really do be everything 💜
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Sam Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson
Series: The homoWNERS [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2201598
Kudos: 6





	Shelter

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Thanks for clicking on this story!! 
> 
> This story is the beginning of alternate reality of sorts for the MCU. While things may seem familiar DON'T GET COMFORTABLE (they say with the utmost love and caution.) 
> 
> Fair warning: this piece is a work in progress and I will try to upload chapters when my schedule isn't ruining my life. Please don't hesitate to lemme know your thoughts and thanks for joining me on this journey
> 
> Quick Shoutouts:
> 
> Thank you @Sreed09 & Shuri for being my beta readers, my listening boards, my safe deposit boxes with my plots and my advisors as I try to get this piece together.
> 
> Thank you Jay for the tweet thread that sparked this idea, all of your wonderful art that serves as my muse, and your kindness cause you really do be everything 💜

**_"Warning, doors closing"_ **

  
  


Sam sighed as he stepped off the subway and headed towards the stairs. No matter how many times he tried to avoid it, he would always be one stop too late to get the next train home.  _ Always a woodpecker, pecking away at work _ , he thought as he trudged through the crowd. He had joined the Boys and Girls Club as a volunteer and in a matter of months, he was offered a full time position working as club director for his branch. He was so invested in the club that he felt honoured to be considered for the position. However, with the inconsistent schedule of an Avenger, he decided to serve as co-club director with his friend Latoya. Even with shared custody of the role, it still led to some pretty late nights. Sam rubbed his hands together as he left the station and entered the chilly February night.

One thing that Sam loved most about New York was that there was always action occurring somewhere. He took in the night scene as he strolled towards home. The neon lights of different signs seemed to flash in a colorful correspondence between shops mirrored with the yells of men celebrating, as the game echoed from the sports bar. Sam couldn't believe that even when the weather dropped into the single digits, people were still out and about. He had become a New York transplant almost 4 years ago, but he refused to get used to the winters here. He would've loved to stop at one of the bars and get a drink to forget the day, when he checked his phone and swore under his breath at the time.

_ They're gonna kill me _ , he thought as he picked up his speed and hurried down the block. Sam couldn't believe that he had made New York his home for this long and still didn't know which stop to get off the subway.  _ If they learn that I missed the stop again, they'll hold this over my head forever. _ Sam remembered his first trip into New York was under very different circumstances. 

He had just been recruited by the Avengers due to running into Captain America and bonding over serving in the armed forces.  _ It did help that HYDRA had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. so it caused Steve to have trust issues.  _ Sam chuckled to himself as he remembered that step he took into the Stark Tower for the first time.  _ If only you knew what would’ve happened from that first decision… _ He came to a halt as he waited for the crossing light,  _ traveling the world tracking an ex-assassin for HYDRA, going head to head against Iron Man and his team, flying all over for high stakes missions _ , Sam rubbed his hands together, trying to bring some feeling back into his fingertips. The flash of the white walk signal urged him into a fast walk as home lingered in the distance.  _ Let’s not forget becoming weapons under the government, being exiles because of the same government, going to visit an advanced technological civilization in order to protect a synthezoid from a crazy, power-hungry titan, fucking DIE for five years to be resurrected by friends, appear in space to fight the previously mentioned weird titan, watch his friend make a choice for his happiness (although he contained some reservations), and take on a title that holds so much… _

“4 years later yet I still don’t know the right stop to get off at,” Sam muttered to himself as he jogged down the street, turning the corner of the second block. He paused there and turned to see the pigeons perched on the edge of the bodega roof. A smile crept on his face as he waited for the signal, leaning back against the opposing pole behind him.  _ Life has been such a ride… _

“Man Riley… The stories I could tell you…” He could feel his chest tighten as he sighed, crossing the last crosswalk and stepping to the bodega. He gently nudged the door with his shoulder and slipped into the warm store. He knew he was in hot water with his timing, but he was hungry and food could smooth over any squabble. As Sam strolled, he felt a tinge of grief gnaw at him over Riley.  _ No matter how many times he tried to remind himself that there was nothing he could’ve done… he still tended to think about all those moments, dreams, aspirations… now lost to the wind. _

Sam knew this bodega like the back of his hand due to his many late night / early morning mid-run stops to get some snacks. He blinked back the tears, focusing on the products in front of him. There were different types of chips, cookies, sweets… A child’s dream! Sam’s eyes glazed over a bit as he grabbed some bags of Doritos and paused for a moment. He had to chuckle when he realised in this moment that he didn’t have a clue what kinds of snacks his roommate likes. He put the snacks into a basket as he couldn’t help but double over and kept chuckling in disbelief. He knew how many languages they spoke, how quickly they could disarm an assailant, the farthest set target distance that they could perfectly hit, the different sounds the shifts in the metal of his—  _ not his, THEIR arm. _

After all the constant changes and the chaos of the past almost 10 years, Sam decided that he needed to move. While he agreed to remain with the Avengers, he wanted to find some space to call his own. So with some help from Pepper, Sam and a good friend moved his stuff into a brownstone. It was a beautiful two story brownstone with a lovely little front yard, nice living / dining room area, with both a basement and an attic. Nothing too special to the normal citizen, but to Sam it was a dream home. He remembered the absolute joy after moving in and having people over for a housewarming party as well as just hosting people for weekly gatherings. Yet after two weeks, Sam realised he couldn’t deal with the huge emptiness of the home once all the guests left.

Sam shook his head, coming back to the bodega. He thought for a moment but refused to deal with asking this minute detail. He grabbed some Oreos, some gummy bears, some more chocolates, threw in some extra KitKats for good measure with some hot fries before heading to the register.

“Sammie, Mi Niño!” An elderly woman called from behind the counter.

“Hola, Señora Barrio,” Sam smiled as the woman pinched his cheek. The Barrio family had owned this bodega for over 40 years. It managed to survive so many of the changes in the neighbourhood. He listened to her gossip as she rang up his items. She was a caring mother figure to the neighbours which meant all news passed through her one way or another. While he tended to filter out the rumours, she was a great informant. There was a loud clang from the corner as the register jammed. Mrs. Barrio muttered to herself as she tried to get the register back open. She swore under her breath as the machine rattled and buzzed back at her, almost as if refusing to cooperate. She threw her hands up in the air and yelled to the back. A moment later, an older man came up with some utensils in hand. He nodded at Sam and headed over to the deli section to place them down before walking back to where the problem lied.

“Aluino, la caja está rota,” she huffed at him.

“Debido al hecho de que es viejo,” he nagged back as he tucked himself between the woman and the register setting to work while her attention shifted back to Sam.

“Sammie, ¿Cómo está tu novio?” Mrs. Barrio pondered, handing him the bag of groceries. Sam’s face was a question as he took the bag.

“No tengo un novio,” he replied with a smirk, remaining calm. She really did remind him of his own mother so much from her open love for the people she cared for down to the mannerisms. He made a mental note to call his sister once this week calms down a bit.

“I’m not seeing anyone,” Sam stated as he fixed his grip and grabbed his other bag.

“¿Qué? Entonces quién es—”

“¡Ay mamá! No tengo el derecho para molestarse sobre su vida de amor!” Aluino chided her, popping his head out from the wiring underneath the table.

“I no do nothing!” she retorted, which made Sam laugh. He knew that Mrs. Barrio adamantly refused to fully learn English and only used it when she was talking with a rude customer as a part of her spanglish. She was proud of her immigrant heritage and shared her culture with everyone.

“Mamá, no es su responsabilidad para saberlo”

“Aluino, soy tú madre y no es—”

Those words started an argument between mother and son. Sam quietly inched his way towards the other side of the counter til he could discreetly duck away into the other side of the store. The smell coming from the deli station made his stomach growl. Although he grabbed some snacks, he really didn’t feel like cooking but was starving for something warm. Sam made a quick stop over at the deli station and grabbed four bacon, egg and— _Wait, how did they say to pronounce it? Oh yeah_ _baconeggandcheese. New Yorkers and their slurring of words man,_ he smirked as he walked over to the magazine aisle, looking for nothing in particular. He picked up a stray one barely hanging on by its corner onto the rack. He shrugged and idly flipped through it, waiting for the argument to be over or the register to be fixed. He scammed about the economy, the global movements that’ve been happening, things that the government had claimed to be doing, blah blah blah. He replaced the magazine and picked up a different one. It’s been almost ten minutes…right? He flipped through this entertainment magazine til he hit a cover spread. His eyes were focused towards the right half of the spread near the middle of the page. There was a man standing near a sleek, retro, black styled car. He was well dressed in a plaid grey 3 piece suit, mahogany buttons with a white dress shirt and a simple patterned tie. His shoes were a leather dress boots that matched the colour of his buttons. He had a nice buzzcut which framed his face nicely and it seemed like fresh stubble covered his lower jaw. He looked towards the camera as his hands were tucked into his pockets with a tooth pick resting on the right corner of his lips.

Something about this being drew Sam’s attention and he didn’t know why. He flipped to the next page to see the same man sitting crossed legged in front of the car. This time he was in a darker grey suit with black boots. His dress shirt was now a greenish styled cheetah patterned dress shirt and an almost shadow colored tie. His skin was a bit sun-kissed as his hands were somewhat folded near his lap, showing off the watch on his left wrist. Sam looked around the photo and spotted the name of the man in the picture. Sebastian Stan… hmph, possibly another pretty boy, Sam thought to himself looking back at the picture, glancing at those eyes staring back at him. His eyes looked like a beautiful shade of blue, but they seem to change with his environment. Something in those eyes felt intimate… It felt like he already knew this person yet he’s never met him in his life. He almost reminds me of… SHIT! Sam looked at his phone to see that not only was he almost 3 hours late, but he saw at least 10 missed calls from a number. He silently kicked himself forgetting to turn back on the volume after his meetings. He grabbed his bags and headed towards the exit.

“Sammie!! ¡No olvides tu cambio!” Mrs. Barrio shouted towards him.

  
  


“I’ll pick it up next time!” Sam replied as he headed out the door. He looked around the street gaining his orientation before turning to his left and hurrying down the block. He kept jogging with his bags and watched as the buildings passed by him. At the third building, he ducked into the alleyway and kept walking. He began to slow down as the walls started to shift in color. Concrete… brick… blue… white… aha! He turned the corner and popped out on the street walking past two houses before walking towards the third house. The little falcon sitting on the gate was a subtle difference of the block of similar brownstones. He opened the gate and maneuvered his way into the front yard, locking the gate behind him. He double checked the gate before walking up the steps to the door. He sighed as set down the groceries and searched in his pocket for his keys. Realizing they weren’t there, he searched in his laptop bag. Pulling them out he pushed the bag behind him and opened the door. He brought the bags into the house, resting them inside before locking the door behind him. He sighed as he dropped the keys on the table.

“I’m home!” He called into the void.


End file.
